Ebook: Tellings from Our Elders: Lushootseed syeyehub | Volume 1: Snohomish Texts

Rich in cultural and linguistic information, the traditional stories of the Coast Salish people contain the keys to cultural revitalization. Tellings from Our Elders presents eighteen stories in Snohomish, a dialect of Lushootseed, the language of the Indigenous peoples who live on the southern and eastern shores of Puget Sound, as told by members of the last generation to claim the language as their mother tongue.

Many of these stories – or syeyehub – were recorded decades ago, but few were transcribed, and even fewer analyzed. Deep understanding of the structure and logic of these texts has eluded linguists and younger generations. In this landmark study, David Beck and Thom Hess examine the structure of the language, the richness of the grammar, and the narrative stylistics of these important texts.

With English translations, full morpheme-by-morpheme glosses, and a glossary of specialized terminology, this book is certain to be both an invaluable resource for scholars and a tool for those who want to ensure that Lushootseed is used by generations to come.

This collection will be of interest not only to linguists, typologists, and students of oral narrative but also to speakers and learners of Lushootseed and other Coast Salishan languages.